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@simurghed HOORAY HOORAH Aisha relationship chart !!! :)))
Okok it took me four bus trips to finish writing but these are my thoughts
Brian
Aisha and Brian are very up and down especially at first. It is unfortunately a natural consequence of all of their life circumstances catching up to them. Brian is 17 and has been shoving all of his personal thoughts and feelings into a sepia toned box in order to be the Perfect Guardian for Aisha. And even then he was only able to do that for so long because he had outlets where he didn't have to do that (originally the Undersiders, then his relationship with Taylor) and those have been taken away now. He doesn't even have any friends except Lisa left really, Rachel is in the woods and Alec hadn't been his friend for a minute anyway but he still is blown up. Brian is basically around just enough to make sure Aisha is eating food and not actively bleeding out in their living room and not much else. I think in his head he's processing this as "I'm not good at helping Aisha emotionally anyway, it's better to leave it to Lisa or Lily or Sabah or her new friend Missy". I think depending on how successful their mom is at actually sobering up for a brief period of time/not keeping toxic boyfriends around there's a non zero chance Aisha ends up relying on her for the first few months after Alec blows up. Which naturally is a terrible idea because every moment of genuine parenting or bonding they're able to get out of Celia is just going to make the inevitable fall back into bad habits hurt more.
Those are the low points of Brian and Aishas relationship but I think there's also positive points. Like I think he does notice that she stops redyeing the purple streaks in her hair/rotating through different styles and just defaults to putting it in a ponytail (which to be clear still looks nice but is a departure from her previous patterns of rotating through a large library of semi elaborate styles) and so he offers to bring her with next time he gets his hair rebraided and starts their era of Matching Sibling Hair. An era which Aisha spends very frequently dressing up in matching outfits as well specifically so she can make fun of him. Which is annoying but also makes her laugh and smile so secretly Brian is glad.
Their relationship gets better slowly at first, mainly because Brian stops going to endbringer fights, but also because The Red Hands join the team and he has a friend group and girlfriend and place he can be a teenager and not a 40 year old salary man who pays taxes again. Depending on how much stock you put in My VistAisha World things either get slowly better like this until Taylor returns, OR things are slowly getting better then the explosive VistAisha break up gives Brian the opportunity to consciously and intentionally step up as a source of emotional support for Aisha instead of assuming that other people will handle her emotional needs if he can keep her alive and healthy. Either way I think that Aisha loves her brother so much and isn't Mad per se about the emotional abandonment but can't help feeling a little bitter about it (as seen in her Ward interlude).
Tee bee ech (tbh) I think someone with a better grisp on Taylor could probably draw some really fun narrative parallels between Taylor's relationship to her dad and Aisha to Brian. Like there's a lot more nuance with The Laborns because Danny is Taylor's actual literal dad who is and should be responsible for taking care of Taylor, and Brian is a kid himself who happens to become responsible for Aisha because of shitty life circumstances. BUT at least in terms of Taylor's complicated feelings towards her dad and his emotional abandonment of her she is trying so hard not to blame him for, and the similar feelings Aisha expresses in her Ward interlude towards Brian, I think they are having narrative parallels there. So uh. More fun flavor to add to Aisha holding Taylor's hand through the whole Khepri thing if you believe in my delusions.
Lisa
Lisa and Aisha are interesting to me because I think they both love each other and are friends but are also a little bit oil and water to each others insane isms. Like Lisa really wants to focus on one specific special person and make sure they specifically are having the best time ever and she can be their special cheerleader who is taking care of them forever. And Aisha does want to be someone's number one special friend but under the condition she can also make them her number one special friend. Aisha probably appreciates Lisa trying to reach out and help her about Alec, but unless Lisa is open to the idea of talking about how she feels about losing Taylor to Aisha theres a huge emotional wall there.
And actually it's probably even worse than that because even if Lisa was open to the idea of being vulnerable in exchange for Aisha not being suicidal, that conversation would be a DISASTER. Aisha is very emotionally literate and aware but what insight can she possibly offer to a Lisa who knows everything. "Wow I think Taylor was kind of mean sometimes even if she was coming from a good place" Lisa knows already. She just doesn't care. And Aisha trying to act as if she knows more or even the same amount as Lisa, even just for the sake of giving her advice, would probably drive Lisa insane crazy. She and Aisha are just unfortunately incapable of having a very close but balanced emotionally equitable relationship which is the only thing Aisha really wants after her one balanced friendship just blew up. So Lisa is there for Aisha obviously. And she cares a lot, but there is a limit at how much she can do herself as Lisa through conversations with Aisha.
I think Lisa's method of helping is really chess mastering other people into Aishas life that can help her more. Like obviously Lisa is aware of Vista, I think maybe not fully aware because Lisa is also busy and probably trying to save her power for political dealings to prevent the end of the world with portals, but she knows it's happening kind of. She may have even been the one to send Aisha after whatever straggling goon was causing problems and put her in the path of Vistas patrol the first time VistAisha hung out. Lisa is DEFINITELY the one who was assigning Aisha long stake out missions with Sabah and Lily so that they could bond and make Aisha feel like isolated on the team.
I think the turning point in Lisa's relationship to Aisha /kind of Brian as well would be The Red Hands joining. Lisa is almost definitely the one who found them and brought them on board as A Team for Brian. The question that I think is lurking in the back of Aisha's mind is "did Lisa just look for a team that would be good employees for Brian and not think too hard about it? Or did Lisa specifically engineer a friend group and girlfriend for Brian even aware that it would probably break her special number one friends heart, because it would be worth it to improve Brian and Aishas life in that way?" Now me personally I don't know but I also think Aisha probably doesn't know either it's just something she wonders that endears Lisa to her a bit more.
In VistAisha world I don't think things are that much different. Lisa knows about the disaster situationship and would intervene if things got too dangerous. I could even see her being the one to finally out the relationship to the Wards at the end if Vista really hurt Aisha in some way and she thought Aisha wouldn't break it off on her own. I think it's more likely that she's gently hands off while still making sure Aisha knows she's around though. Like a "hey and for no particular reason if you ever have any issues with The Wards Aisha let me know I can get them for you just say the word." But vague enough that Aisha doesn't have to bring it up if she doesn't want to.
I don't think much changes between Lisa and Aisha considering they are kind of the same in Worm and in Ward, they are besties who know each other well and help each other/would probably take a hit for the other in a fight, but they aren't the pillars of each others emotional support network.
Rachel
I've mentioned before Rachel and Aisha are not exclusively best friends because Taylor told Rachel to be, but also because Rachel is ranked number 1 Undersider least likely to blindsided you by suddenly blowing herself up. And I was right when I said that it is true Aisha loves Rachel because she is emotionally open and honest and probably will never surprise you with sudden suicidal tendencies at the worst possible moment.
I don't think Aisha and Rachel hang out as much as they would like because Aisha doesn't like dirt or bugs or animal slobber and unfortunately those are terms and conditions to hang out with Rachel most of the time. That said Rachel does canonically walk into Brockton Bay, see Aisha only, and then leave a couple of times according to the text itself so they aren't distant. Also their respective employees and dastardly villain goons are pretty close to each other and them both. Rachel is Aunt Rachel to the kids, and Wildbow never mentioned this but it is real and true that Cassie and Aisha are close too. They hung out more before Chastity developed her guilt complex and started distancing herself from Aisha/Aisha distanced herself out of respect but Aisha and Cassie are still besties and you have to believe me on this.
Anyway I do think Aisha and Rachel generally get along with very few road blocks just on the basis of them both liking open and direct communication. Rachel doesn't want to be manipulated and Aisha just wants to be included/not left out of the loop. Their ADHD/Autism solidarity. Even Rachel's desire to be in charge/Aishas desire to bother authority wouldn't be a big issue I think. If Rachel gets too mad about a joke Aisha can disappear before disaster occurs and give her time to chill out + Aisha is way less bothered by authority asserted as "stop wandering away and making fart noises you are pissing me off" than she is to authority like "stop wandering off you are in danger because you are a child and you don't understand what's going on. Your fart noises are immature and you need to stop just because I said so."
Sabah / Lily
I was gonna do them separate because I think their relationship to Aisha is different but I think the foundation comes from the same place and I don't want to write the same thing twice. Anyway Sabah and Lily may not be real characters in Taylor's story but they are real relevant people to Aisha on account of the fact over half the Undersiders are away/blown up/taking a step back from physical fighting, but the ones who are left still need to maintain a strict grip on the city /maintain pecking order with the mercenaries working for them. Truly if they slip up for even a second I really think Citrine would have staged a coup in a heartbeat. So Aisha Sabah and Lily become the A-Team of Core Undersiders You Can Expect To See In A Fight for most of the time skip. They would have to get at least close enough to be incredibly functional coworkers if nothing else.
Which I think is what Lily and Aisha are for the most part. When Lily finds out about secret VistAisha I think she gets really excited for younger star crossed gay people she can mentor and look after. Unfortunately for her I don't think either Aisha or Vista really want her to be there and help so uh. Good luck Lily. She is probably genuinely helpful when it comes to family stuff (she doesn't talk to her parents either) and genuinely can offer good insight about the differences between the wards and Undersiders if either girl was questioning their alignment in Brockton Bay. It just so happens that these genuinely nice moments are sandwhiched between Lily trying to get Aisha to watch her terrible gay TV shows that aren't good, and taking Aisha's teasing and pranks waaaay too seriously and getting genuinely crabby about being forced to play Surprise Taser Tag. Lily also finds the Vasils creepy and weird which Aisha does not appreciate very much. But I think their relationship is not dissimilar to Aishas relationship to Brian or an older sister/younger sister dynamic. They're at each other's throats a lot, get really annoyed when forced to spend time together, but genuinely care about the other at the end of the day.
Sabah is closer to a friend who you call a sister or ""mom friend"" for Aisha than an actual familial relationship. I think Sabah is too mature to actually get really mad and have beef with a 14 year old, but also Aisha definitely outranks her in the Undersiders hierarchy so Sabah doesn't talk down to her or pretend she's not fully capable of stabbing and killing. Unlike Brian who might insist that Aisha can't come along to dangerous missions, Sabah is ok with Aisha coming she would just set up a hard rule of like "hey things are looking really bad and you are an actual literal Kid, I need you to stand behind me and Foil because I'm not letting a kid get hurt on my behalf". Her advice is more helpful for Aisha than Lily's is, but they have a similar distance Aisha has to Lisa where Sabah isn't super keen on dumping her problems on a teenager no matter how much the kid wants her to. They definitely get more close as time goes by/are more equal friends in Ward when Aisha is a bit older, the distance is really just a matter of time not compatibility.
I think Sabah might be scared of Aisha at first, Aisha brags about being a wretched villain who will torture people to death without remorse, and that is very much not who Sabah wants to be. However after Aisha starts taking in Heartbreaker victims I think it would become pretty clear that a lot of Aishas talk is just talk. She doesn't actually enjoy torture, she's only ever even done it the one time to the cult leader who definitely deserved it, and she made her own safe house of traumatized people after. I think it would remind Sabah of dolltown and both endear her to Aisha/motivate her to help the people there as best she can to prevent the same kind of disaster happening to them. My personal headcanon is that the Vasils love her because she can make them pretty clothes even though their design requests kind of drive her crazy sometimes (you can't pair yellow off white with blue off white no matter how nice the fabrics feel it will look BAD <- my impression of Sabah sewing the off white fabrics together anyway because the Vasils asked nicely but complaining about it the entire time)
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Tribute piece for one of my fave arcs!!
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can i ask why you don’t like super corp? i never saw the show
Well and I only saw three episodes of the show but that's kind of my problem with it. It exists as a part of The Show canon and doesn't really mesh well with any other canon which is NORMAL AND STANDARD for comic universes BUT I've gotten very irritated over the past week trying to Kara post and see Kara postings and instead witnessing everyone talk about Lena and The Danvers Family as if it's set in stone DC lore like the Wayne Parents death or Krypton blowing up.
Also just. I'm sorry the CW Supergirl canon is fine and matches stuff that's happened in the comics but it is also the most Boring Version Of Comic Kara there is. Like yea Kara being a nice girl who loves humanity, has a human family, works as a reporter, and fights the Luthors is something you CAN do. But it's also just entirely rehashing plot beats of Superman and not leaning into aspects of Kara that make her unique. Also in 2025 we live in a post Karen Starr/Red Daughter Of Krypton/Woman Of Tomorrow world where she's had a bunch of great stories that entirely distinguish her from her cousin. I like it when Karas have anger issues, feel disconnected from humans, hang out with aliens, and are visibly still mourning Krypton most of the time so I'm really excited for the new canon. So I'm like extra pissed off recently seeing people complain that it doesn't line up with the show.
Also I'm the president and CEO of KaraBabs INC

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Joining in on the non big two recommendations going on!
Rare Flavours
A love letter to Indian cuisine and food documentaries, written by Ram V and Illustrated by Filipe Andrade.
Rare Flavours is a beautiful six issue series focusing on a Rakshasa, an immortal demon grieving the death of Anthony Bourdain, this pushes him to attempt to catalogue the Indian cuisine and the culture that shapes it. Alongside a struggling young filmmaker he travels the subcontinent showcasing the food he loves all the while being tailed by a pair of monster hunters.
Warning: includes consumption of humans by a monster and terminal illness and the grief of losing a parent.
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Home Sick Pilots
A wonderful fifteen issue series about bad punk bands, haunted houses, and mechs powered by ghosts. Written by Dan Watters and art by Caspar Wijingaard.
The main reason I love Home Sick Pilots is because it manages to sit at the intersection of sharp characterisation, simplicity, and absolute batshit things happening at all times that the best of the big two’s work usually fills for me. This is all uplifted by Caspar’s mastery of comics as an artistic medium, the things being done with panelling, colour, and character development within art is truly some of the best I’ve seen.
Warning: prolonged focus on death, undeath, and specifically suicide.
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These are just two of a truly staggering number of tremendous indie comics that have come out in the last five years. It’s been creating incredible comics for a long time but the indie scene at the moment is something very special and I highly recommend just looking through the websites of publishers like Image, Aftershock, and Boom! Because there will be something that catches your eye!
I swear I’m not a “you have to read all the comics before you even TALK about this character” purist, but it does break my heart a little when someone is like “yeah I tried reading [this specific comic] and I hated it so I’m never touching a comic again.”
Because guys! Guys!! Comics aren’t a genre, they’re a STORYTELLING MEDIUM! Maybe the medium isn’t for you, but you shouldn’t swear it off just because of one shitty story!!
Like. Imagine if the first movie someone ever saw was Morbius (2022), and they walked out of the theater and said, “well that sucked, I guess I hate all movies.”
Like no dawg!! Come back!!! They’re playing Barbie right next door, you gotta at least try Barbie!!! Not every movie is Morbius, I SWEAR!!!
#comics#comic recs#very happy to answer questions about either indie comics or big two at any time#I’m very passionate about the medium and am so glad that more people are engaging with it seriously
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Will you please post bounce on it baby here you're the funniest woman on the planet thank you o7
here u go
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Fascinating. You, however, failed to consider the fact that I am in possession of the one and only 24 karat cybernetic Kaleesh warlord.
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i made this gif i hope you like it
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Not vampire I am just back to drawing Pokemon girls. Its a comfort for me. This time a Bewear olympic wrestler girl
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I don't think I can overstate the depth of impact trans women have had on indie ttrpgs.
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Been a while, here's a worm speedpaint :)
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imagining a fantasy world where transmisogyny has recently been like... cut in half. and fandom people have to deal with their #fruity guy blorbos actually transitioning and becoming women. imagine june egbert but its happening to MCU fans.
#hey prev it’s deadpool vol 8 (2023) by Alyssa Wong#It’s not a perfect run by any means but more fun than comics deadpool has been in a while#It’s definitely closer to taking the Deadpool gender stuff seriously than most of the other runs I’ve read
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Absolute Martian Manhunter #4 (2025)
written by Deniz Camp art by Javier Rodriguez
#oh I just noticed the cute little Absolute Batman and Wonder Woman toys at the top of the second page#Man Javier has been such a stand out
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i think before everything happened they'd both look a little tired in their own way
when drawing the above image i heavily referenced the buffalo 66 movie poster. is there any correlation between the two? idk.
but i did want to draw krouse out of costume and noelle looking uhhh... better


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i promise you that no one is more interested in deconstructing the superhero genre than comic book writers
#most of Grant Morrisson’s work could be called deconstructive#Animal Man and Justice League come to mind for big 2 stuff#and because of how influential a writer they are so much of that style has consistently trickled down to so much of the industry over time#Anyway all that to say you should absolutely read the first 80 Issues of Green Arrow it’s very good!
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